For his part, YG says that his song isn’t about hating Asians but more autobiography – burglary targeting Asians is what kids of his area and generation did back then. That is also what the former robber in our previous article said. I don’t that really matters much – is there much of a difference being robbed because of perceived wealth or because you are disliked? YG’s song has seen renewed interest – it would seem that efforts to protest his video has lead to the Streisand effect, where trying to have something removed from the Internet brings even more attention to it.

So what are Asian Americans to do? It’s hard to control what other people will do, so it’s good to focus on actions and things that can be controlled. The Sacramento police recommend general tips that apply to any one, like being aware of your surroundings, not showing a lot of cash, or keeping lots of cash or valuables at home. I got an alarm system some time after the incident with The Daughter. South Sacramento residents started forming armed patrols coordinated through WeChat – a move not encouraged by the police and problematic to say the least if mistakes are made.

What really needs to be done is defeating the stereotype that all Asians are rich and easy pickings who won’t fight back or report the crime. It’s such a wrong stereotype about Asian American wealth – Asians in New York get targeted for robbery even though they have the highest poverty rate of ethnic groups in the city and some have to ride buses for money. In my neighborhood, plenty of people use banks, and there are a number that cater specifically to Asian Americans. Still, proving that Asian Americans are not all rich and don’t always have a lot of cash around is not as important as showing that Asian Americans will report crimes and work with the police. The Sacramento police held a number of community meetings encouraging residents to report suspicious activity right away and emphasizing that dispatchers there can handle 30 different languages. After The Daughter had her encounter with a burglar, she called police right away. While they didn’t catch the person, they did give us some suggestions to make our home more secure, which we have implemented.

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